Food Allergy: Happy or Horror Thanksgiving?

Sounds dramatic, but let’s face it:  Thanksgiving dinner can either be a dream or a nightmare.  When managing life threatening food allergies, there seems to be no middle ground.  Unfortunately, as much as we love our family, they too must be educated on keeping our family members safe during big, sometimes chaotic Thanksgiving dinners.  There are several challenges we face when trying to enjoy our family while keeping ourselves or our food allergic children safe in a larger than usual group setting.  I wanted to toss out some big hurdles and then explore solutions that you all have taken out for a test drive!

Thanksgiving Food allergy challenges…

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• Location of dinner.  Who will be hosting Thanksgiving and is the environment an allergen  fiesta that needs nuclear cleaning or is the location safe within reason.
• Cooks.  Who will be cooking the meal? Is it a group effort and food from multiple kitchens will be enjoyed or is the meal prepared in the host’s kitchen?  Is it easier for you to bring your allergen safe food with you?
• Menu.  Will the menu be allergen free or will your food or your child’s food be cooked separately.  Can you provide safe recipes while including safe brands to be purchased?  Are those brands available at your host’s location?  Not all Whole Foods Market carry the same items.  Last year, there was some serious driving around to find my son’s safe brands in Los Angeles.
• Allergens.  Will there be foods containing allergens and risk of cross contact?  My son teenage son is dairy allergic and is okay being around dairy.  He is also allergic to sesame seeds and those little things pop off and around everything so much that we will not participate in dinners where those are present.
• Safety in the Kitchen.  Are cutting boards, utensils and equipment clean or are they exposed to allergens.  I don’t allow my children to drink from blenders that have whirled nuts.  I still don’t even believe that my own blender is 100% perfectly cleaned.
• Roasting oven.  My secret weapon and most beloved item is a plug in roasting oven.  I use it for big dinners and last year, we brought it to Los Angeles with us and cooked lamb and potatoes in it, avoiding any cross contact issues with other foods baking in my sister inlaw’s oven.  It gave her more cooking space and we cooked the lamb out on the back porch and it was divine!
• Toddlers.  We had a hard fast rule that if toddlers were present then we were not–if allergens were being served.  Ever hugged a toddler post meal?  Yup, I’ve worn someone else’s dinner before.
• Family in Denial.  It happens.  Sometimes, friends and family are in denial and don’t believe that life threatening food allergies exist and they refuse to take steps for safety.
• Location of emergency medications.  If you are in a new home, does everyone know where the EpiPens® or Auvi-Qs® are kept?
• Guilt.  Leave the guilt at the door!  I know sometimes we feel bad for “being difficult” or making choices that our family does not support.  Well, this sounds rough, but…too bad.  Being true to my children’s health and well being is number one.  I try to be honest and share my needs and feelings from a place of love and compassion.  If someone still doesn’t support me, I wish them well and hope they one day they might understand.  No guilt.  I’m just too darn old to have guilt.

[/unordered_list] Create a plan of Thanksgiving Attack.  There are a lot of considerations and we’ve enjoyed many safe meals along with not having the energy to go into such detailed planning that we opted out for a mini vacation instead!  Hello hotel!  The truth is that it does take planning and time to manage a gorgeous Thanksgiving dinner away from home.  Even if you are the host, it still takes work.  There have been times that we called it a day and simply packed our bags and headed somewhere warm.  The bottom line is that Thanksgiving is all about gratefulness, family and celebrating the way that works best for you and your family.  If Thanksgiving raises your stress levels, then pause for a moment and think out a plan and a few options.  Sometimes, we forget that we have options!

Food Allergy safe foods are just as elegant as any other culinary delights!

How do you approach Thanksgiving with Food Allergies?  Share in the comment section please!!

p.s.  Please note that the top image of the stress relax compass is courtesy of David Castillo Dominici via FreeDigitalPhotos.net